Description "The great Wanini—now, it seemed, the legend was starting to come true." Wanini returns as a mother, and the world of Wanini grows wider and deeper. The Blue Lion Wanini series, which portrays weak and vulnerable lions banding together to overcome crises in a harsh wild environment, has firmly established itself as one of Korea's most beloved children's literature bestsellers. Young readers have passionately embraced the story of Wanini, once a wandering outcast, growing into a lioness who leads her own pride. In Book 5, Wanini, now five years old, and Barabara welcome three cubs into the world. Malaika's cubs and Wanini's cubs become one new family, and Wanini's pride enjoys days of unparalleled peace. But tragedy strikes when an unexpected accident claims the lives of the cubs. Overwhelmed with grief, Wanini and her friends lash out at one another with sharp words in an attempt to hide their pain, and after the conflict, Wanini quietly leaves the Black Land in the middle of the night. Can Wanini overcome the pain of losing someone she loves? The story follows Wanini's lonely journey as she leaves her pride and wanders an unfamiliar land alone, searching for hope to carry her into tomorrow. "Sorrow is like the wind—it's everywhere. No one can escape the wind." If sorrow cannot be avoided, what are we to do? Wandering aimlessly, much like the night she was cast out of Madiba's pride as a young cub, Wanini feels pathetic about her own situation—until she unconsciously arrives at Madiba's territory. Reuniting with Madiba after so long, Wanini finally comes to understand the sorrow woven into the life of a lioness who leads a pride, and realizes that Madiba has spent all this time struggling with all her might to fulfill her duties as leader through countless hardships. Grandmother Madiba gave everything she had, but she still could not keep all sorrow at bay. No one on the savanna ever could. (...) Grandmother Madiba's mighty roar was a sound that carried sorrow within it. And now, Wanini could hear that sorrowful sound. (pp. 136–137) Author Lee Hyun captures the pain of Wanini's loss in prose that is both heartbreaking and quietly restrained, conveying the truth that every being in the world—not just the animals of the savanna—cannot escape the sorrows that life brings, and that each must endure sorrow in their own way. The way Wanini's mothers face sorrow is by "living today as fully as they can," and though Wanini isn't sure she can do the same, she resolves to run across the savanna once more. "Small, weak, and sometimes unsure of myself" but living "today as fully as I can" (from the Author's Note)—Wanini's belief that joy waits hidden in the grass if she keeps going leaves readers, who have followed and loved her since she was a one-year-old cub, with a deep sense of her growth and a lingering, poignant emotion. "The wind of the savanna never stopped blowing, and to keep from being pushed back by it, she had to run with all her strength." The prelude to new adventures for the great lion Wanini In Book 5, Wanini experiences yet another heartbreaking parting. Maisha, who has been like a true sister to her, leaves to form a new pride of her own. Having learned to quietly accept the sorrow of farewells, Wanini respects Maisha's choice with newfound maturity. Wanini understands that throughout her life on the savanna, she will have to bid farewell to precious loved ones again and again—but that after each parting, a new encounter may arrive like a gift. This is the strength of sorrow that Wanini has come to understand through her long, lonely journey, and an unchanging truth of the savanna. The final scene—Wanini setting out once more on today's hunt with full vigor, alongside the cubs who miraculously survived and the friends who still stand by her side—leaves a profound, resonant impression while stirring anticipation for what tomorrow holds for Wanini. Having weathered sorrow and grown stronger of heart, Wanini's story of setting out on new adventures will continue.